Spring is here - almost

With time just flying by this semester (only 4 weeks to final exams) we have not had much of a chance to travel but recently took the time to drive west of here to Grand Bay and it really brought home how quickly spring (begins 20 March here) was approaching with ice and snow melting accompanied by beautiful weather. Apparently it has been one of the warmest winters on record for Canada.


It is also the time to open up the house and use areas we don't normally use in winter. The shot below is the fantastic sunroom at the back of the house and as you can see we are using it already as an eating and relaxing area.

You have seen this area below a number of times during the seasons and this shot was taken on Sunday the 21st. The idea was to show how little snow was left and that the time to plant the veggie garden is almost here.

Mother nature here hates being taken for granted and just to make the point she decided that more snow was required so the two shots below show what happened during the next 24 hours.

Since then it has rained continually but it is easing and a sunny day is forecast for Friday. It is obviously not only Melbourne that can have many changes of weather in a short period.

With the long summer break coming up we are off at the end of April to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a few days then to Savannah, Memphis, Nashville, Gettysburg and the Great Lakes, eventually making our way back to Fredericton via Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. All up we think we will be away for nearly 4 weeks and cover around 5000 miles.

We also intend to have a week in New York during the break and will get there by driving to Boston and then taking the train to Manhattan.

Until our next update please stay safe and well.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy

Ross's 60th

Neil and Monica White (deceased) would be delighted to know that their eldest son Ross Leslie White celebrated his 60th birthday on 13 February and is having the time of his life.

Below are photo's of Ross's first birthday dinner at the lovely home of Jacqueline and John Wilt. We had a great night and Jacqueline had gone to a lot of trouble decorating their home with banners such as 'Over the Hill' and presented Ross with a ribbon which he is wearing stating that he is now officially 'old'. I made the cake.

After a great Chinese dinner Jacqueline and John introduced us to Rummoli, a card game which Ross understood and I was hopeless however, we had a fun time with lots of laughter which is always good therapy.


Then it was onto the next party which Ross shared with George our great neighbour, who also celebrates his birthday this month. The party was a great opportunity to try some new recipes. Below is a photo of Ross and our friends.

This birthday cake was made by Kathy and it was delicious.

The Beaver Dam folks had a great time with lots of fun and laughter so a great big thank you to everyone who contributed to ensuring Ross had a great 60th.

Until next time stay happy, safe and well.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy

Bar Harbor, Maine

We have been on our travels once again and recently took the opportunity to spend a few days in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA. Bar Harbor is about a 4 hour drive from Fredericton and even though it is still winter over here any chance we get to travel we just get up and go.

As you will see from the photos below there are some magnificant homes in Bar Harbor most of which are fortunate enough to have a sea view.

The photo below is of the Bar Harbor Waterfront building which has parkland surrounding it with great views of the waterways.

We took advantage of the sunny weather and travelled around the area and it was interesting to see up close the fishing huts and to see families our for the day. In the Green hut below Mum and daughter were sitting comfortably inside the hut while dad and son were about to have fun in their skidoos riding over the frozen lake.

We stayed for 3 nights in Bar Harbor and our accommodation was at a cottage called Far Niente which you can see in the photo below. This was a lovely cottage all fully contained and to see more of what this cottage had to offer please click onto http://www.far-niente.com/index.htm

Far Niente is owned by John Kurgan and his lovely wife Holly Duane who have lived in Bar Harbor for the last 7 years and were very friendly and made us so welcome. John and Hollly are musicians and on the Saturday evening we had dinner together at one of the many good resturants in this location. We had the most enjoyable evening and we are planning to return to this lovely area in September when all the trees will be wrapped in Fall colours.

Until next update stay happy, safe and well.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy

PEI Revisited

Hello again from snowy Canada. Last week we decided while the sun was shining and there were no snow storm warnings we would have a couple of days away in one of our favourite parts of this lovely country so we ventured back to Prince Edward Island. As we had seen a lot of this island during the summer beak we decided to go to Summerside which is located on the south west side of the island as we had not been to this area.


As we passed the Summerside Yacht Club we were taken with this sign - something that we would never see in Australia is this combination of sporting activities.






In keeping with how fishermen in Canada maintain their sporting interests during the many months of ice and snow they have used their initiative and use a fishing hut which is placed over the frozen river surface. They cut holes about 12 inches across and fish through this. The insides of these huts are amazing and some are funished with all the luxuries of home. They can be purchased with all mod cons from flat screen TVs and a variety of modes of heating and in some cases they look better than some homes we have been in over our life. To get an idea of some of the best ones have a look at http://www.jamesmaurer.com/ice-fishing-house-plans.asp

Our travels took us through some very pretty places as you will see in the photo below.

Our return trip saw us driving in continual snow and as you can see from the photo below visability was very poor and as the roads had not been cleared the trip home was very slow and tedious and this is the Trans Canada Highway.

As Ross has a reduced university workload this semester we are intending to see more of the sights of the Maritime Provinces which of course will be dependent on the weather.

In closing may we take the opportunity to wish you all a happy Australia Day.

Love Ross, Bev and Murphy.

New Year

It was so good to be able to spend New Year with Ross, Murphy and our friends in Canada as this time last year I was back in Australia sitting with my lovely father who finally passed away on 7 January. So for us 2009 has really sped by and we are looking forward to 2010 being full of good cheer and great happiness.

Our New Year Celebrations started with drinks and nibbles with our friends followed by supper. The evening flew past so quickly as we welcomed the New Year with a glass of Moet Champagne

Over the past few days we have a storm warning and a wind warning. It has continued to snow heavily over the period and dumped about 50 cms of snow all up. The temperature has been between -3C and +2C so relatively mild but still indoor weather. Even Murphy hasn't spent as much time out on the deck as she usually does.

Well, happy New Year to you all and may 2010 be the best one yet.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy

Christmas Day

The leadup to Christmas for the White/Wright household was much more organised this year than for this time last year when we had flown from Australia, been off loaded in Montreal because of a snowstorm, loosing our luggage in LA and finally arrived in Fredericton 23 Dec. This meant we only had 1/2 a day on Chrsitmas Eve to shop. So after the events of last year and the rush it entailed we were determined that we would be much more organised this year which we are happy to say was the case.

It was made much easier because we were able to plan and enjoy time with the many friends we have made since our arrival. We have mentioned throughout the year the wonderful hospitality and generosity that has been extended to us by the nice folks in this area and in the photo above you will see a lovely foral center piece given to us by Debbie to brighen up the house and add some Christmas cheer.

Our Christmas festivities commenced on Christmas Eve when we attended the 6.30 pm Church of England service with Debbie and George following which we all went to Kathy and Doug's house across the road for Christmas Eve party at their home. This was a very pleasant evening meeting with their family and friends.

This was our second Christmas in Cananda and we had a wonderful day. Jacqueline and John joined us for dinner (supper) and stayed overnight departing after a late breakfast on Boxing Day consisting of blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs.

Megan and Bryn, their two lovely Golden Retrivers also joined the party and for some 30 mins or so after their arrival Murphy finely stopped barking and growling at them and they all got along very well. In fact after they left on Boxing Day Murphy continued to look for them.

We were all in good form on Christmas night and Jacqueline who has a great sense of fun inducted us into the Newfoundland (NFLD)tradition of "being screeched in' as when we had visited NFLD earlier this year we had escaped this tradition. John had also escaped this tradition so he was also initiated.

Being 'screeched in' follows the ritual of wearing a sou-wester hat, kissing a fresh fish on the lips followed by drinking a shot glass of Screech Rum. You will see from the photos what we mean. The fish is generally a large Cod but we were fortunate to kiss a very fresh Rainbow Trout. The trout nicknamed Newfy ended up being our evening meal on Boxing Day and he was delicious.

We hope that you have all had a great festive season and may the New Year be a good one for you.

With all of our best wishes Bev, Ross and Murphy

Dinner Theatre & Pre Christmas

Well its almost Christmas and while we are a day behind you all in Australia we are thinking of you and wish you a joyous Christmas and a happy new year. But before we get to Christmas Day we have continued to enjoy wonderful times with our lovely Canadian friends.

Last update we shared with you our evening at Kings Landing with our friends from this side of Fredericton so now we share with you the evening we spent with Jacqueline and John our friends from the other side of town.

Jacqueline was responsible for finding the house we now reside in and was outstandingly generous by accepting the numerous boxes we sent over from Australia ready for our arrival. Over the year we have shared many happy times with Jacqueline and John who is discharging from the Canadian Military after many years of service.

Following are a few photos of one of the funniest nights we have been to since our arrival. Jacqueline and John shouted us the evening out at a Tea House which has a dinner theatre. The playlet was loosely around the birth of Christ but Incorporated Canadian humour at its best. You will see from the faces of the players the fun they were having which was transferred to the audience resulting in peels of laughter.

The generosity provided to us from the friends we have made here has made living here so pleasant and we truly feel right at home in their lovely country.

Last week Debbie and Bev spent several hours over 2 days as volunteer gift wrappers in the Regent Mall with the money donated going to improving the diagnostic equipment at the hospital. It was a busy time but so much fun as the shoppers who availed themselves of this service were very chatty and full of good humour.

Will provide another update after our Christmas dinner of New Zealand leg of lamb, chicken stuffed with prunes and Camembert & wrapped in prosciutto and baked veggies followed by ice cream fruitcake. This is our Australian response to the traditional turkey dinner served over this way. It will obviously be accompanied by great aussie wines.

Have a great Christmas.

Ross, Bev & Murphy